Outskirts Overland Podcast
Welcome to the Outskirts Overland Podcast, your go-to source for all things overlanding! Hosted by a seasoned adventurer with over 15 years of experience, this podcast offers a genuine and down-to-earth exploration of the overlanding lifestyle. Whether you're a seasoned traveler or just starting out, join us as we delve into the essentials of gear and equipment, share captivating stories from the road, and provide practical tips for your next adventure. Tune in for insightful interviews, expert advice, and a community of like-minded explorers who share a passion for discovering the world beyond the beaten path. Get ready to fuel your wanderlust and embark on unforgettable journeys with the Outskirts Overland Podcast!
Outskirts Overland Podcast
Rain, Mud, and Recovery: Real Overlanding Lessons from a Family Campout
Ever found yourself in a muddy mess with no way out? The latest adventure of Outskirts Overland takes you straight into the chaotic heart of a corporate camping trip gone soggy. When relentless rain transformed a lakeside campground into a mud pit, what started as a simple family outing became a master class in preparedness and recovery techniques.
As minivans sank to their axles and even professional tow trucks became stranded, Charlie's foresight and equipment made him the unexpected hero of the weekend. Using his truck's winch, he rescued multiple vehicles while simultaneously keeping his own family comfortable despite the challenging conditions. The stark contrast between those who came prepared and those who didn't creates a compelling narrative about what true outdoor readiness looks like.
Beyond the mud and mayhem, this episode explores the deeper aspects of outdoor preparedness that are often overlooked. From the psychological impact of discomfort on children's future relationship with nature to the simple yet effective solutions that can transform a potential disaster into a memorable adventure. Charlie shares practical nuggets of wisdom about everything from the correct hand sanitizer to use (Purell, not Germ-X) to why you should never apply it inside your vehicle.
The episode also challenges gender stereotypes in the overlanding community, highlighting women who excel independently in outdoor settings, often surpassing their male counterparts in skills and experience. This refreshing perspective reminds listeners that outdoor competence isn't defined by gender but by passion, experience, and willingness to learn.
Whether you're a weekend warrior or a dedicated overlander, this muddy misadventure offers valuable lessons about preparation, community support, and the importance of keeping it simple. The outdoors remains the ultimate equalizer – it doesn't care about the brand of your jacket or the price of your gear, only whether you've thoughtfully prepared for what might come your way.
Want to transform your own outdoor experiences from potential disasters to enjoyable adventures? Tune in for Charlie's practical tips that don't require breaking the bank – just a little forethought and some strategic packing. Your future self (and possibly stranded strangers) will thank you.
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, welcome to Outskirts Overland. It is Monday, the 9th June 9th, and today is Donald Duck Day. So if you are a fan of Donald Duck, I know that my mother is Happy Donald Duck Day. He is not lost in the holidays here, so that makes me happy. Hope everyone had a good weekend.
Speaker 1:It was very rainy here in mid-Missouri and, as I said, I was going camping. We went camping, me and the kids were camping. I didn't talk a whole lot about it. I'm Mr Corporate World in my day life, day job, and we had our work camping trip. Yes, my work has a camping trip. I'm sure I work at a mortgage company and we had a camping trip. So I'm sure, as most of you can imagine, um, one of us does not look like the other in terms of myself, because I can't, I can't, you know. So, anyways, it was super muddy. It was minivan, kia and hyundai heavy, for not all will drive, front will drive, and it was real muddy. Okay, but I took my subaru forester wilderness. I took my truck too because I had the gazelle tent, three kids, my girlfriend and me. So my girlfriend and my oldest daughter slept in the rooftop tent, and my two youngest kids and me slept in the gazelle tent so we had the awning out because it was raining, you know all the stuff. But anyways, that will make sense here later as I tell the story.
Speaker 1:So we get there and I literally I say it is going to be terribly muddy. So we started pulling in. It is super muddy because it's next kind of next to a lake, so naturally it's a moist area to begin with. So it's next to a lake, it's super moist and I'm like we're going to people are getting stuck, like that's going to happen. I'm not even 10 minutes there Winched out a Honda Odyssey, like I'm winching cars out with my truck because, guys, you ready, it was muddy.
Speaker 1:They had a tow truck on standby to come help pull people out. It was super muddy. Guys Tow truck got stuck. They called another tow truck to get that tow truck. That tow truck got stuck because these tow trucks weigh a billion pounds. So we had two tow trucks buried to their axles.
Speaker 1:People stuck and I helped and I, I helped. I winched out two Honda Odysseys and then got another one out with some pushing and traction boards Cause they weren't as smart as the other two where they dug themselves in so deep I couldn't get. They didn't have a hitch on this last minivan and I could not get to anything on the rear like a lower control arm. I guess I could have done a soft shackle around the rear wheel, but I don't trust everyone's maintenance schedule to trust their wheel studs that much. Had it been my minivan I'd have soft shackled around one of the spokes of the wheel, told them to put the parking brake on so the wheel didn't spin, and get my soft shackle stuck in the rear brake rotor and I'd have pulled it out. I'd have just drug it out by the wheel.
Speaker 1:But these people, I don't know who rotates their tires, I don't know how they actually torque stuff. For all I know those wheels are barely hanging on. I mean they're newer vehicles but like, as you guys know, hopefully all of you guys do all your own maintenance. But if you are like myself and have co-workers in a larger company setting, you're aware that they all just take their stuff to. You know, jiffy Lube take five oil change. The dealership even is getting shoddier. Who knows what those people forget to do or don't do or underperform.
Speaker 1:And when it comes to recovery, you know I don't want to beat a dead horse with recovery. But when it comes to recovery you have to take in how confident you are and how that stuff was handled on the vehicle you're covering. I feel way more confident when I'm out in the. You know these are nicer vehicles. Like they're stuck and they're going to be muddy. But I'm also not trying to hurt anyone's vehicle where, like when I'm out off road and you've got a little vehicle hung up on a rock, anyone's vehicle where, like when I'm out off road and you've got a little vehicle hung up on a rock, I'm not overly concerned if I was to scratch your wheel, like put like mar your wheel, scuff your wheel, because that's what, that's what I have to like, that's what I have to get a soft shackle around. But these are people's daily drivers.
Speaker 1:60, these are very expensive vehicles and I don't say that because these people are rich or anything. Just vehicles in general now are expensive. This these are like Honda odysseys, like with like you know, I don't know, I don't know what something like that costs. 50, $60,000, a lot more money than I got them to. Anyways, it doesn't matter.
Speaker 1:I pulled out some Honda odysseys at the work camp trip, some type of non all wheel drive Kia got stuck after. I was already set up. So not not to be a rude individual or anything, but I was there to hang out with my kids, so they they were stuck. You know I was already set up. I was not tearing down to pull that car out. Um, I did. I did facilitate pulling out, slash, pushing out traction, boarding five cars. I got five cars unstuck which made me think at work I'm going to teach a class on, because there was a whole lot of like people got traction and then stopped.
Speaker 1:There's a video of one of my co-workers because he my my co-workers that work around guys like they know that I'm like I don't know. Like, for instance, the other day one of my coworkers was doing something on the weekend and one of the like Red Crosses had a stand and they were given out. They were like giving away free first aid supplies and like one of my coworkers came in to me with like the sealed packages of gauze but like 10 of them. He's like you know, I saw that and I just thought you know, that's probably something you use and I was like it absolutely is. So I have like sterile gauze that I got from the Red Cross because one of my coworkers was there, cause even them, they asked me a lot of questions. Not all of them are camping and off-roading, but they ask me. I mean they get to know me. I spend a lot of time with these people, so they ask me stuff about first aid, different sanitation, first aid, my opinions on how to treat infections when you don't have certain stuff. Because let's be real, here guys Like and I'm not going to act like I'm, I'm not going to go too into it here Like I would with them. I'm not a physician but like medicine's getting more and more expensive and it's making it harder and harder for people to afford. So if it's not completely necessary to go get those stitches, I mean I have, I have, I have an.
Speaker 1:I work with many veterans at my job, especially in what I do as a veteran advocate. Not all of them are infantry, you know, trained, like I am, but you know one of them's a combat engineer, so he has some electrical experience as far as things are concerned. Another one was on a nuclear submarine, so he's like just really smart. So like we use each other, we have some, we have some life skills. You know, we have some firsthand experience. The combat engineer knows some first aid. Like we know a little bit about some stuff people just don't know about. So my, my coworkers do know me, but one of my coworkers saw me starting to push this van and they get up on my max tracks. So my co-workers do know me. But one of my co-workers saw me starting to push this van and they get up on my max tracks and I'm like don't. I'm like don't stop. And they just stop. And I'm like ah, no, no, no, no, no, no. Well, now I'm like we'll pull up a little bit on the, you know, get to the furthest edge of that max track. And they're like then what? And I'm like we'll pull up a little bit on the, you know, get to the furthest edge of that max track, and they're like then what? And I'm like gun it in reverse because you're going to.
Speaker 1:I was like we're either going to take your drive wheels back through this mud or, since you just stopped, we don't have momentum on our side to get the rear wheels through it. Like we shouldn't have stopped. You should have you had traction, you had it. You go like should have you had traction? You had it, you go like anyways, made me think like, ah, dang it, so that ends up being a little more muddy than I wanted it to be, just based on me. Not, I had to. I would have needed to reset my expectations, I guess, like I wasn't thinking on their level, it's not their fault at all. Like I'm not laughing. It's more like I'm laughing at me for not being like.
Speaker 1:Once this thing starts going like, once you feel it start to move, floor it like get this thing out of this mud, cause you got to when you've got a freaking Honda Odyssey or what are they? Toyota? Jeez, I don't even know what they are. The Toyota minivan? I'm not, I'm not thinking about minivans right now. The Toyota minivan, their front wheel drive, they probably got 19 or 20 inch wheels. They got tires that are made to be quiet, you know, like highway tires, which is good, that's what those are for. Like you know, like that's what those are for. Like you know like that's a comfort, fuel economy, quiet. You know that's what it is, that's what a minivan is. So it just totally. I mean, that's just what they are and that's good, but they are not to be in the mud. They don't have but four or five inches of ground clearance. Total, you know, got a couple of those out.
Speaker 1:I was winching cars out at the company camp, out, you know, watching a lot of people, um, you know, just not not prepared due to not understanding, you know, and I was there and my kids are just freaking like I probably need to spend more time explaining to them what I'm doing, because they just live it and it's like it's just their life is like in those settings. Their life's just like oh, dad's got it. Like everything Bug spray, bug cream. I have clear fingernail polish to put over bug bites. If they're itching, you know, due to histamines. That's what happens when you get a bug bite. So when you get a bug bite and you scratch it, that releases histamines. That's what makes it itch, get red and get worse. So what I do is I've got clear fingernail polish Welcome to the freaking 1990s hack and I immediately, as I identify the itch and they got a problem, first thing I do is put some, get a little bit of whether it's Sarna itch cream or some type of pain relieving cream, put that on there and go over it with clear fingernail polish so that way, if they do even scratch it. It's not scratching the actual bite to continue further scabbing, itching swelling. So I have clear fingernail polish.
Speaker 1:I had tons of baby wipes to clean off mud and everything else Extra shoes, extra socks, extra clothes, I don't know, just ready. You know I'm just for that scenario. I have have tons of other stuff too, but that's why I bring the truck. I could have done it all out of the subaru but they wouldn't have had as much fun because they were like dad, I need blah, blah, blah like I have citronella, you know bracelets for the kids so they could put them on their hands and their, their uh, wrists and their ankles, always Like they're in the truck all the time.
Speaker 1:Even my oldest daughter was like I bought three or four more at Academy the other day and she's like did you even remember the wristbands? And I was like I didn't. And she's like see, you were in too big of a hurry. And I like opened my deck drawer and I had like 40 of them and I was like those three aren't make or break in me, annika, like we're fine. And she was like like she just wanted to be. You know, she just wanted to. She almost she's 10, you know like she wants to catch me slipping, but she didn't. Those things are like 69 cents. I buy them by like the tens. So the kids all had those.
Speaker 1:Um, it was like 70 80 degrees this weekend and we're watching a movie in the evening. All my kids had coats, beanies, pants, blankets, chairs. Like was it supposed to be cold? No, but deep. Like you never know, like you don't ever know. So I'm always ready for that. But it just made me think, like not that I need to teach a class about anything at work in related to anything else other than other than like here's how you should prepare your car for just numerous types of weather. You know, because, like, think of the instance in my mind. This is how I think and I'm not gonna I'm not gonna talk on this too much, I'll get into other stuff.
Speaker 1:But in the instance, like that van, those vans get stuck in the mud, like, say there's a, uh, say you and your family are headed somewhere for the day, there's a road detour, a road got washed out and your minivan gets stuck, okay, there's no Charlie around, there's no coworkers around to help push you out, there's no traction boards and there's a bunch of traffic Okay, so like there is no support system of people to help you out, and you've got your kids with you, do you got waters with you? Do you got you know? Do you got waters with you? Do you have communication with you? Do you have dry things? Because if you get out and you try, attempt to help yourself, is it maybe going to be a problem? I heard one of my coworkers before I showed up. He's like you got any floor mats in there, guys, I got traction boards. But I'm going to tell you right now, there, guys, I got traction boards. But I'm gonna tell you right now, all treads, or go treads, go treads. They pack up. If you're just anybody, that's anybody. Or you're somebody listening to this with a wife that has like a family vehicle, suv. All treads have a nice little case that they come in and they're not real big and obnoxious like Max Trax.
Speaker 1:I think GoTreads I keep saying AllTreads because I'm thinking AllThread GoTreads are something that I think is applicable to your everyday driver. I think you could get GoTreads. They fold up, they actually work. They'd be a good piece of gear that I think, in a general setting, would be something to have in your vehicle. Cool, um, I'll be real honest with you guys.
Speaker 1:I don't have anything like that in the subaru, because the subaru just subarus. Just be completely honest, I took the subaru and you want to know what did the best out of everything I own at this freaking muddy madness the subaru did. These things are monsters in that kind of light, you know, like when it comes to needing actual traction, like on something dramatic, like with clearance it's not best for that but like snow, ice, mud, grass, like this thing's a stud. But also I brought a second car to where we could drive back and forth from, like our camp spot to like the activities, so we weren't walking in the mud the whole time. Because, as you know, like that, have kids, like Having kids get all nasty again, it happens and that's fine and my kids were definitely nasty, but they fall in the water and they're super Mad and stuff happens.
Speaker 1:Having a vehicle that I could turn the heat on that wasn't, you know, 600, 800 meters away, you know is a consideration, not something that would. I mean, me and my girlfriend, we had jackets and blankets and we I mean we were ready, my truck's packed for us. I mean heck, even her I didn't even bring, I brought like my mountain clogs, like my bedrock sandals clogs, and they got so wet. Then my feet started getting cold and she goes back to the truck to get I don't remember what she went back to get, but she comes back in her boots, in her hiking, waterproof hiking boots, and I was like, ah, it's such a solid play. Like in my mind I was thinking summer, breathable, and in her mind she was thinking wet, dry, and I was like, yeah, you totally, you totally, you totally smoked me there. Like, and it's no competition between her and I, she just probably she's, I'm thinking she just thought I had boots too and I was like, dang it, but I had all my kids in Crocs at least. So I go just wash them out. But I was getting three kids ready.
Speaker 1:Mistakes were made, ordered a pair of waterproof tennis shoes yesterday, cheapish, you know, $40. And they will just live in the truck now and she's got boots in hers. But where her boots are on her side of my truck, on my side of my truck, is where all my morph late stuff is. So I can't just fit a permanent. I can't fit a permanent living set of boots. They're too big. So I got a pair of shoes and I will probably take that pair of shoes and put them on top of each other, like they come in the box you guys know I'm talking about, and wrap them with bungee cords so they stay even tighter, so I can stuff them somewhere. But I had extra socks, I had smart wool stuff, I had extra jackets.
Speaker 1:My oldest daughter, I packed for my two youngest kids. My oldest daughter, you know she's of the age she's got her own camping. She's got her own packing camping. She's got her own like packing cube things like for her stuff because we go camp. She actually goes camping the most.
Speaker 1:But the little ones, you know I got their bags packed. They were ready coats, like all the stuff. She didn't bring a jacket so I have a little packable. You know Patagonia waffle kind of coat that, like you know it fits up in its own pocket. I whipped that bad boy out. She wore that. You know you got to think of that stuff.
Speaker 1:And they wanted to watch the movie outside that they had on the big blow up screen and the fireworks and all this stuff and that's great, like, that's all good stuff. Like if I wouldn't have been prepared, my kids wouldn't got to enjoy that because they've been too cold, because not only did the temperature start to drop, it was, they were wet. So keeping them dry etc. Um, so my stuff's all. I had it all dried out and it was all good and it all got wet. And I got it dried out yesterday just enough, and then it started raining again yesterday, so it's all reopened this morning while I'm at work to air out. So that's tight. So that was my weekend. But just vehicle preparedness. You know everyone, it's very, very rare.
Speaker 1:I go to that event every year, I think. I said I think I was talking about today. It's the seventh year in a row I've went with my oldest daughter. This is the third year my youngest daughters went and it's the first year my, my littlest, my son, went. Because I try to not, there's a lot of kids, there's a lot going on and I try to make sure you know you gotta be, you gotta be three. Like you gotta be three to go. I want you to be at least coming up on three to go, cause, like when you're, when you're one years old, you're just too little to be handling yourself and when you're two you're old enough to handle yourself, but not also pay attention to what your parents are saying versus what is going on around you. So three is the is what it is for me. So it's his first time, because he's about to turn three and uh, but he had a lot of fun. And then the other two did really good, but they've done it before.
Speaker 1:They, like knew what to expect, but I did keep them handled. You know I had extra smart wool beanies. I've got a couple of those, you know, and those can be whatever size. Really I don't know. I just had kids and stuff. You know I had flashlights, headl, just stuff you're going to need Baby wipes, dude wipes, but that's all stuff that I have.
Speaker 1:Like not only is it in my truck, a lot of that's in my car too, blankets and such thought watching out there, like how many people's kids were like shivering and like this is why people don't like being outside. Because, unprepared, outside this weekend would not have been fun for kids. As an adult, you make your own choices. You probably, if you weren't prepared as an adult, I mean hopefully you've got the emotional gumption to be like well, that's my own fault, you know, like it's not, like it's not available, but it just made me think like the amount of kids out there that weren't having a good time. That's our next generation of people that I rely on to keep our public lands alive and they may associate camping with misery now, because it went from 70 to 55. And you're wet and it's windy. Well, 55 right now, wet and windy, is a little chilly, especially for a little kid. You know they don't got the weight that we adults have and stuff. So I was like man, like maybe I need to.
Speaker 1:We do these things at work called small groups. And I was like man, your boy probably needs to do a small group on, like how to go to Walmart and spend a hundred you know, 50 bucks a kid, how many kids you have. And like just have ponchos and sweatpants with you and extra socks and waters and know some type of waterproof. You know footwear, whether that's crocs or rain boots or water shoes or because that's no good um, towels that dry quickly. Like I had my nomadics towels so I could hang them on the awning, like wiping the kids off with a towel, is it? Is the towel then muddy? Yeah, dry it up, hang, hang it to dry. But you know, are you smearing some mud on the kids, yeah. Are you drying off their wet bodies? Yes, is the mud that big of a deal? No, but then again that gets into for those folks that are there with their you know, fancier cars.
Speaker 1:Do you guys have towels to put on the seats for the kids to sit on so they don't ruin your seats? Do you have I mean potentially towels to put on the floor, more boards, carpet? Do you have all weather floor mats? Like you also don't want to go to something for a day and ruin your car. You know, like I, they just were. I just forget how. I just forget how much actual stuff. It was a reminder.
Speaker 1:The weather's not always this bad. Most of the time it's just a chaotic fun fest, but this time it was chaotic catastrophe for some. I'm getting up at 7 in the morning and they make it available to where you can bring your own tent, or you can reserve a tent that's already put up for you with a couple of camp chairs, depending on your family size. I woke up at like seven in the morning like two thirds of the people were already gone. So like not only did they kind of like have misery, that the parents woke up early cause they were hating it or the kids were hating it, whatever, and like also stress themselves out to rush out.
Speaker 1:And I'm not saying that's a you know like bad, good, bad or indifferent, but as somebody that likes this so much, there's a better way to do it. That's not sucks and I feel like I could, you know, sometime next year, before this event occurs, I can maybe do a little couple weeks small group on just a few things you could do to make life easier. Heck, you could do it at Goodwill. You go buy extra clothes for you. And again, I don't think Goodwill this is another little piece of Charlie but I don't think Goodwill is for people that can afford stuff. I think Goodwill is for people that can't. So I wouldn't recommend it. If you're, if you're financially capable, go buy new stuff so that you're not. You have the means to do that and it's not like I think you're anybody's more or less important, but keep the, keep the stuff at Goodwill for the folks that actually can't afford stuff. That's, that's the, that's the purpose of of it.
Speaker 1:Or even I could do that class and we've all got kids of different ages and we and everybody that has kids knows like kids grow out of clothes like. That's a perfect example, like here's stained clothes that, like my kids grew out of. That your kids could just like they could be dry and warm in, like nobody cares if they're stained at that point, like they don't need to be fashionable. Maybe we could do like a little clothing trade, something like that. So that would be a good idea. And I'm just talking about this with you guys because, like you guys may have co-workers, family members, friends, like you guys may go on like float trips with companies and people like this is all gonna apply, you know, and it doesn't have to be expensive.
Speaker 1:I talked about it the other day with rain considerations. If you're going on a float trip and you're me and you've got all these waterproof bags and bungees and all this stuff and you're said individual that goes once a year, don't know what you're getting into. If you're the, if you're a helpful friend, you're like you have extra trash bags and you show them how to waterproof their stuff with trash bags. If they aren't that concerned with the optics of that, like does it look like you've got all your stuff in the trash? I guess, but like who cares? Like who does care? Is your stuff dry. Could you throw your stuff in the river and it still be dry, yep. And do you have to have all this stuff to store after the trip? No, throw your trash bags away.
Speaker 1:Use you know, take a take, put, put all your stuff in four trash bags and take a trash bag off, as you need a trash bag for the trash and your stuff's still warm. You know, you got three trash bags to use for trash then, because your stuff's all in the one. So you've got, I mean, you've saved space and money and everything else. Just, you know, think you know what's the? Uh kiss, keep it simple, stupid. You know you don't need all this frog togs patagonia. Again, I have those things, but not for your, that's, I'm not your. Once a year using it person. You know, and again, 100%. You want to know what ended up getting used this weekend. I just said it the other day about the kids.
Speaker 1:Chapstick. I'll tell you what if you don't got chapstick in your car, you're a disservice to everyone in your family. I don't know why, but chapstick is a must, chapstick. And freaking hand sanitizer, specifically Purell hand sanitizer too. I'm real weird about that, because when I was in the military and I'm not saying all government contracts are correct. When I was in the military there's a government contract for hand sanitizer, because naturally you can't wash your hands everywhere. So they give you those little hand sanitizers, the little ones. You put them in your shoulder pocket to use them to keep away that.
Speaker 1:I talked about dysentery, giardia, things like that that can get on your hands and then thus into your mouth. So you use hand sanitizer and we always had Purell, and I have used Germ-X previously and it doesn't dry out as well and it's got like a super hard, fragrant smell where Purell, um, I mean it smells like alcohol, but that also subsides and it dries out on your hands faster but doesn't leave your hands dry. So, just in the way of passing on information, purell hand sanitizer Even the green one's better, but I tend to go with the straight clear, regular Purell hand sanitizer versus Germ-X. Germ-x has never worked well for me. I've used it in a pinch because it's all I could get, you know, but it's not my recommendation. Just I'm throwing that out there because the marine in me thinks I need to. Germ-x is not. Germ-x is second class hand sanitizer. Something to think about, though with hand sanitizer I could go all day. You guys gonna be like man. This guy is nuts, like just the stuff that I know about.
Speaker 1:And think about hand sanitizer and your steering wheel and your interior of your car. It is alcohol like rubbing alcohol is in it. It will break down your steering wheel. It will discolor the interior of your car. If you get hand sanitizer on your hands, make sure you give it the opportunity to dry on your hands. If you put hand sanitizer on, slop it around a couple of times. Then put your wet you know undried hand sanitizer hand on your steering wheel. It's gonna start to deteriorate your steering wheel. You put your unhand sanitized, un undried hand sanitizer hand on the shifter, you're gonna break down the shifter. Dash anywhere like put hand sanitizer on outside of the vehicle, not on the interior of the vehicle, because it slides and slops out. Rub it all in, let it dry off. Then get in the freaking car because you will ruin the interior of your car with hand sanitizer.
Speaker 1:Oh my God, when I was detailing cars guys, I mean, I've known this forever when I was detailing cars. I detail cars around the COVID time. The amount of people are like I don't know what happened. I'm like I do. I know exactly what happened. You guys have been using hand sanitizer or you've been wiping hand sanitizer on your steering wheel, on your surfaces. The guy's gonna ruin your car into your. Like alcohol is too harsh, don't do that. So just, uh, you know, I don't know.
Speaker 1:I don't want to be sexist by saying this, but some of this episode could just be like tell your spouse depending on who the more you know outdoorsy person is, or just the person that cares to listen to this, and I'm gonna give a shout out just and I only say that out more outdoorsy person. Because, like there's a girl that I know, kayla Hendricks, and she's in the, she's in Mark Twain Mafia. But like Kayla is a female and I don't really know Kayla, so she may hear this and hear me shout her out, but like again, it's a small community around here, so I mean, we all just know of each other, but Kayla has a forerunner and Kayla goes alone all the time. Like in the instance where Kayla had a boyfriend, she's probably the one teaching her boyfriend about this kind of stuff, cause she's like, she's very capable and goes on her own Like a lot, a lot. Like it's not, like she's going with her boyfriend and they both have cars Like she's going. So it's not the instance of like just guys, girls, you know, like I know plenty and I use Kayla just because I think she needs to get a shout out Cause she's like forever going and breaking stuff and fixing stuff and going again, like even at the.
Speaker 1:I went to a camping, like a winter camping club thing, and they all went and did a trail and they were like, and some of the guys came back and they're like that one girl just kept going. They're like I'm worried about that. And then my buddy cory was like, I was like who was that? And he's like oh, it was kayla. And I was like she's fine, she's more fine than all you all are. Like she's kayla's, kayla's fine, like kayla, she's gonna be okay, like she's gonna be fine. I see it it all the time she goes. And I kind of laughed and they were all and they were all like oh, and I was like yeah, she's. You know, you kind of want to look at him and be like she knows more than you. Like you know, like she's she's been living it, she's about that life, um, and I just thought it was funny because sometimes that is the, the uh.
Speaker 1:The thought process amongst men in this space is that that they are, you know, more than and the women are less than. And I could tell you right now there's definitely, there's definitely couples that go and there's the couples that go. There's definitely men that are more into it than the women that go, but there is quite a few women driving their fam, like women that are driving the hobby to their family. I know women that are like my boyfriend just isn't as into it, he hates it, he doesn't like to be dirty, like. That's not. You know, guys, it's not just guys, girls, it's girls, guys too.
Speaker 1:And in the event of Kayla, it's just Kayla, like she's going along, she's doing her own thing, which, as you guys know, I am in full support of that. Go, do it yourself. I think you cannot, I think there is no, you know, screw around. Like I like to say, test that theory at your earliest convenience instead of screw around and find out. But there is no amount of ultimate, I messed up and I'm screwed, as when you're by yourself because there's no one to help you. So, just, I don't know her that great, but we are in the same circles and she posts on Facebook quite a bit more than I do about her.
Speaker 1:Just what's going on with her, which also I'm not saying that for anything other than just like it lets me know what's going on with her a little bit more, and there's something to be learned from there. There's nobody to help me, so, like you, will learn a lot that way to be prepared, in a sense, that that doesn't happen to you again. You know so she's, and I only got to bring it up because I know her and I think she deserves a shout out and she does go alone and she is a girl. So it's not like it's it's. It's not even like a girl's can too. It's like I know girls that do too.
Speaker 1:Not that she can, she does, and I would hate to be the guy that wants to be her boyfriend, that doesn't know anything, because she's gonna be like I don't know, I don't know what. I don't want to, I don't want to assume her the demeanor, but you know I have another. You know I have another acquaintance that pulls a trailer and she has a Tacoma and she has a boyfriend. We all know she has a boyfriend. We all know she has a boyfriend and he doesn't like going. So we've seen him like twice and we've seen her like a billion times and she always goes hell. Her dog goes with her everywhere and she has a boyfriend. She's an older, you know older, like very adult age, by 40. Her boyfriend never comes Like he's came once or twice to an event but he very much doesn't like it. So once or twice to an event, but he very much doesn't like it. So it's not just guys.
Speaker 1:I just felt like that needed to be said because I have the utmost respect for anybody doing it. Man, female, take your dog, take your kids, like all these different scenarios. Me and my girlfriend go a lot. Kids go sometimes. There are people that go with their husband, wife, you know, boyfriend, girlfriend and kids. Always Nothing but respect. That is not for me. I go alone and I go with my girlfriend, you know. So that's my flavor. That doesn't make anybody else's flavor wrong. Anybody that does something different than me is going to know more about that than me. Like going with kids is a whole nother ballgame. Going to know more about that than me. Like going with kids is a whole nother ball game.
Speaker 1:And even as together and efficient as I am, it is a huge hindrance on my normal processes camping with the kids but camping when the kids are with me, so everybody's better at something, which again goes back to my last podcast, friday, about community and helping each other out. It's not like you're looking at them, it's not a freaking softball tournament, guys, where you're like you lost, like there is no losing. Help each other out, help your friends out. Like I said, I winched people out. I shared chairs and blankets and you know what I had. I shared chairs and blankets and you know what I had. I didn't share stuff to the extent of my kids being uncomfortable, but I had some extras and I did share them. But again, as I said, extras, you know I took care of my own first For sure, but then again, even just last weekend, I didn't put a podcast on thursday because I was retention my winch.
Speaker 1:I told you guys, I freaking use this thing non-stop. I feel like I use it more than I feel like I use it as much as the truck rolls down the road, like I use this winch so freaking much. I don't even, and maybe it's where I live. I'm the type of community I'm in and the type of people that are around, or I are, the weather, I don't even know. But now I just showed you guys a video on retention, the winch. I pulled three cars out this weekend. So what do? I got to go home and do this week before I go out anywhere. I'm gonna do that again, which is and that's the reality of it. Like that's why I showed you guys a video like that's the reality of it. Like that's why I showed you guys a video Like that's the reality of it.
Speaker 1:I winched three cars out. To some extent it's wrapped up how it's wrapped up. Due to angles, I had to winch stuff out. Like I got to unravel it at least a little bit and re-tension that. I got to re-tension the length in which I used to pull those cars out, because I didn't pull the car all the way up to my freaking bumper for tension. I pulled the car up as far as I needed to so they could get out. I got that sucker unlatched and moved on which again I'll talk about how getting it unlatched so that car didn't have to sit there while I jacked with getting the.
Speaker 1:I've got the ultra hook now so I can just unhook that soft shackle and they could carry on. You know, I got the soft shackle off of their car when I got. When they got where they needed to be, I grabbed it, um, and that's fine. But when I had the previous closed loop system, they would have had to wait for me to get the soft shackle off their car and then out of the winch hook thing. And because it was full closed system, which again is safe, but in the instance like I just had, being able to quickly connect in and out was real beneficial.
Speaker 1:And those of you that are like those clips, whatever, whatever, the UltraHook, the Factor 55 UltraHook, has a lock pin for the slip mechanism, the hook mechanism. So you know how it's got. The little bridge, I guess, between the hook and the base there's a lock pin so it keeps that from moving. So you can't, it won't move, which I could teach you guys all about hooks too, because there's some stuff to learn, and this isn't stuff I know, guys. I go to these expos and if there's anybody selling Factor 55 or anybody that's a recovery expert, I will take a chair, sit over there and ask questions, because I use this stuff and I'm not.
Speaker 1:Guys, winching could be real dangerous, but it can also not be almost not dangerous at all if you got the right stuff. Like throw a t-shirt, like some type of like you can get winch tension bags or whatever. Like some type of like, you can get winch tension bags or whatever like that you throw over the line. You could throw a duffel bag over the line too. You could throw a jacket over the line. You could like a wet towel, like something that just puts some pressure that that winch line will go down if it breaks. I didn't know that. That's not like. I'm born that way. I learned that from asking questions and that's why when you guys if you, if anybody ever asked me questions, I'm passing it on because, hey guys, you're not dumb, I didn't know either. I didn't know, I didn't know anything until I knew it.
Speaker 1:And like this weekend is a perfect time to bring up to my coworkers because like it's fresh in their mind that that wasn't a whole lot of fun and it's an opportunity for me to get in there and go hey, it's your fault, it wasn't fun. Like not in a bad way, but like let's make that not an option anymore so that fun's always on the. You know, fun's always an option, you can always have fun, so you just weren't ready. Fun, so you just weren't ready, you just weren't. You know you, just you, you thought that you had what you needed. And you know the outdoors, the ultimate equalizer. Weather's the ultimate equalizer, like it's just, you got to learn it, you just got to learn it, you just got to learn it, that's all there is to it.
Speaker 1:And in a world full of stuff where style is kind of, I mean, I don't, you know, walking around work, I might not be the best looking guy, but I'll tell you right now, when everybody was wet and cold this weekend I was. They were thinking, man, I wish I had that. I saw lots of those looks and you know what? The stuff wasn't stylish, but it was good and it's not new looking either, cause it gets used. All of us I mean I've got. Yeah, it doesn't matter though, cause that's not what it's about. It's kind of crazy to me just and I'm just rambling now. Kind of crazy to me how that, how that, how that perspective shifts real, real quickly. You know, like that attitude changes real quick whenever you see, like two days ago, it's nice outside and everybody's in their winter coats and they're real clean and they look real nice and I come in there looking you know, I don't know myself, just not polished, looking, you know, because I use it, and in that situation it's like, oh, look at this guy Flipped the last weekend and they're like I wish, you know, like I wish, because I have high quality gear, so I keep it.
Speaker 1:It gets it looks jacked, like it's dirty. It doesn't even look jacked like it's not ripped and tore up and jacked up like it, just it's dirty. And you don't want to wash technical gear because you're going to it's decrease the properties of it, which again I can go back to nick wax and you could use nick wax to wash it and re-waterproof it. But like you're not gonna do that, like you do your underwear every week and it would and I mean it'll last through it. Like getting a little grease on my rain jacket, quite frankly, is actually waterproofing it. Grease is waterproof, it just looks crappy. So getting a little grease on it isn't a reason to wash it. Getting mud on it's not a reason to wash it. You just leave that sucker alone because it's still waterproofing, it's still, for all intents and purposes, keeping you clean. But I mean that's where neck wax does come in, but you don't want to go wash that thing in hot water. You don't want to take your rain gear and wash it in hot water. You know a lot of your cold gear. You want to air dry. You don't want to be throwing that stuff in the washing machine to dry or you're ruining it.
Speaker 1:People probably don't know that either, because they don't read labels or care to find out, because they're buying their Patagonia based on the clout, not the, not what it actually is. And, quite frankly, it's super unfortunate that patagonia stuff has become like socially popular, because I quite guys, I think it's like a fantastic, like you know, you can get a patagonia shirt this is patagonia or a hat or whatever. But, like, if you buy any real patagonia gear, it is good gear, like it is such good gear. I have a lot of columbia gear that I think is really good and it's somewhat less expensive. I have some north face gear. I think north face is one in the middle, though we're like I think no matter what, patagonia is expensive and it's good gear. It just depends on how your your purpose for buying it, but it's good regardless. I think north face does make some lesser gear just for, like stop, more style purposes, but they definitely do make good gear. You just kind of gotta pay attention to what you're getting and where you're buying it. Um, and if north face was to hear this and tell me I'm completely wrong, I'm totally cool with being completely wrong. That's just my. What I feel like is my experienced opinion of that brand. They make some real good stuff, but they make some stuff that's not even outdoor gear, like it's just like. It's just style gear, like it might as well be somewhere else. Eddie bauer's another one. It's all good gear. You can just buy it and you can do whatever you want with it, but for its intended use it's good gear. So, anyways, I will leave it at that.
Speaker 1:I've talked enough today and about what's going on, but this is more an episode for probably the person that doesn't listen to my podcast. Like here's a situation, here's how that went. Could have went better, a lot of people weren't prepared, but that's a perfect place for me to. That's a perfect opportunity for me to put myself there and help these folks out. So that doesn't. So that like something like this doesn't get get you know, seen as a negative, like as a bad experience because it could have been for somebody or their kids or their wife, even. You know we're never going to that event again. No, no, no, that's not what needs to happen with that.
Speaker 1:Like you need to buy some rain jackets and blankets and keep them in your car, and some extra socks and you know stuff like that. Like it's not, it's really not a big deal. And even bottles of water Do you need when you're that muddy and stuff. Do you need bottles of water for drinking, always, no, poke a hole in the top and use it as a spray bottle to clean off some chunks and shit, stuff, stuff. Sorry again, guys, I'm really trying not to cuss on here. Sometimes it just comes off.
Speaker 1:But yeah, a water bottle is not just a drinking, you know. Poke a hole in the top, I use an all, but you get. Some of you guys might not even know what an all is, but you can use a knife, a pen or whatever. Poke a hole in the top. Now you can squeeze the bottle and it'll have pressurized water to clean off your feet or your legs or hands. You know, just have it in your car is a good thing to have. Um, I'm not a big fan of water bottles because you gotta throw away the bottles, but you're also not going to keep water indefinitely in some type of bottle you bought, either in your car, like I mean. Let's just just reality there. So, anyways, have a great donald duck day. I'll catch you guys tomorrow. Have a good one, be prepared. Think outside the box, get outside later.
